the diary of our quest for baby number 2

But I’m feeling a lovely sense of well being. Things are all ticking along very nicely – dd has taken to potty training brilliantly and all we have to tackle now is nighttime and nap time staying dry; 4D scan was wonderful; Venture photography was great and we resisted the temptation to buy loads of pictures; I finally have a gorgeous outfit (complete with shoes and bag) for the wedding we’re going to in June; the decorating is almost complete. 😀 😀 😀

Dates and numbers:
There are 61 days until your due date on July 22, 2008.
You are 219 days pregnant.
You are 7.2 months pregnant.
You are in your 8th month of pregnancy.
Your 3rd trimester: April 29, 2008 to July 22, 2008. (28 – 40 weeks)

I weigh 11 stone and I would give a bump measurement but I can’t find the tape measure – but it feels pretty big!

Just one of several wonderful photos we got from the 4D scan. He was mostly sleeping so we didn’t bother with the DVD but it was just fantastic to see him having little wriggles, and waving his arm around at the end. He looks like his sister and daddy and is a proper cutie (well, if him mama can’t say that, who can?!) I can’t wait to meet him now – it’s definitely helped me with the bonding thing.

Monday 14 April 2008

I came across this (found here) today and it’s probably the first time I’ve actually seen some statistics written anywhere other than in medical papers.

Risks of multiple pregnancies is high

Multiple pregnancies are a greater risk to the mother and the babies. The risk is greater for twins than single babies but rises dramatically with three babies or more. Without selective reduction 13 per cent of multiple pregnancies end with no live babies, and more than 15 per cent end with premature babies.

CONCLUSION: In trichorionic triplet pregnancies, embryo reduction to twins does not improve the chance of survival but may reduce the rate of handicap. Reduction from triplets to singletons may reduce both the survival rate and the handicap rate among survivors.

I still can’t help but feel we weren’t given enough information about the management of an id twin pregnancy compared with a reduced singleton one. The statistics seem contradictory and confusing the more I find. I probably shouldn’t keep looking, but I really can’t help myself. I guess I’m searching for the elusive ‘that choice was the best one medically’ statistic, which would absolve me somewhat. Although in my heart of hearts, I know that any of our ‘what if…’ options would have me here thinking and researching the others, there is no real peace to be found, only acceptance and a desire to do the best with what we have. I’m usually a great believer in letting the past go, or at least not letting it affect ones future, but maybe it’s too fresh right now to move on just yet. Accepting that bad & horrible things happen sometimes, but having to also accept that it doesn’t mean we are bad & horrible, or that bad & horrible things should continue to happen, or that we should somehow punish ourselves even more for the decisions we made. They have been made and acted upon; we cannot change them. It’s easy to write, say, even think, but much more difficult to believe. I hope to get there someday, but I’m also aware that maybe I never will, and I will just need to live with that.

Back to the here & now – must sign off and change my dd’s nappy. Roll on potty training!

Dates and numbers:
There are 103 days until your due date on July 22, 2008.
You are 177 days pregnant.
You are 5.8 months pregnant.
You are in your 6th month of pregnancy.
Your 1st trimester: October 16, 2007 to January 14, 2008. (0 – 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: January 15, 2008 to April 28, 2008. (13 – 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: April 29, 2008 to July 22, 2008. (28 – 40 weeks)

Your baby’s crown-to-rump length is about 8.8 inches. Weight has increased to around 1.5 pounds and fat is still being deposited at a high rate. Babies come in all shapes and sizes, so your baby could vary slightly from these `average` measurements. Your uterus has grown quite a bit bigger this week. The top of your uterus is between your bellybutton and your sternum. Your uterus is about the size of a soccer ball now!

Measuring 110cm around the bump today.

Quick round up – bought lovely dark indigo maternity jeans from H&M in Bristol plus a really gorgeous red swing coat which doesn’t look like maternity wear. Booked our Hypnobirthing course which will start on May 3rd – I can’t wait for that! I’m going to start the relaxation CD this week, using my very lovely (if expensive) organic aromatherapy candle from http://www.neomorganics.com. Decorating has shifted into our bedroom so we’re camping out in the living room – it’s all looking really great and we hope to have the place ready for market by the end of next week at the latest. Very much looking forward to it being finished so we can clean away the fine layer of white dust which has got everywhere!

Dates and numbers:
There are 173 days until your due date on July 22, 2008.
You are 107 days pregnant.
You are 15 weeks pregnant.
You are 3.5 months pregnant.
You are in your 4th month of pregnancy.
Your 1st trimester: October 16, 2007 to January 14, 2008. (0 – 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: January 15, 2008 to April 28, 2008. (13 – 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: April 29, 2008 to July 22, 2008. (28 – 40 weeks)
Your baby’s crown-to-rump length is approximately 4 inches and s/he now weighs approximately 1.75 ounces. Your baby is close to the size of a softball and you can easily tell that you are pregnant now! If you wear maternity clothes or a swimming suit, other people will be able to tell that you are pregnant also. You can probably feel your uterus about three to four inches below your bellybutton.

Although my uterus is definitely higher up than that – I’d say it was just under my bellybutton right now! Probably still measuring larger because of the triplets. If I had a tape measure to hand, I’d measure around the bump – that would be fun to chart… 🙂